"And the Lord turned the captivity of Job" (Job 42:10)

We have been blessed again this week. It started with the death of the Sentra (SEE POST: Dead Sentra) at church last Sunday. It was funny because when it wouldn't start Steph and I looked at each other and decided that it was time to ditch the car. We prayed and asked for guidance and felt the time had come to sell it and find something else. But what?

As we start looking at everything from mid-sized cars to suburbans (Steph said no to the 'burbs) we weren't sure what to do. Prices and sizes were going through our heads and didn't seem to line up. We really wanted a mini-van to take us through at least two more kids without having to up the vehicle size again soon, but how?

Wednesday I went and applied at the BYU Bookstore for a job since the Math Lab TA position didn't pan out (sigh). I was hired that afternoon. Then, while dropping some money into a credit union for a friend in Tucson I ran into an old mission pal who was the assistant branch manager there. He told me to let him know if there was anything he could do to help us.

Steph found OUR van the next day. It is a 2004 sienna with 103,000 miles and in excellent condition inside and out. She was infatuated by it and despite its $9,990 price tag couldn't stop thinking about it. It isn't that this was overpriced, for a Sienna in this condition it is priced low, we just hadn't planned on a car loan, especially that big. So she and I started talking numbers.

Friday she filled out online paperwork through the same credit union that my mission friend worked at and by the end of the day we had been approved for our loan! We called my friend and he offered to let us come and sign the papers at his branch on Saturday (normally only the drive-through is open then) once we had the contract with the dealer, CAR SCOUT, in Midvale - I highly recommend him. We got that Friday night.

Saturday the loan process was smooth and fast. Our other friends have been driving us as needed and took us back up to Midvale where we got the van and drove home. This van is perfect. Turns out it was a fleet vehicle for most of its life which means lots of highway and professional drivers with plenty of regular maintenance. Then, it is also an eight seater which is hard to find. That means we can fit three more kids in there! So, if we stop at six or less we are set and if more we won't need a new car for close to 10 years (average of 2.5 years in between and we still have time from Sophie before the next)! We even bought an extra service warranty to cover any pumps, parts or valves that break under the hood for the next five years.

I don't know how else to describe this than that this is OUR van. It all fell together perfectly. In fact, the Sentra has started twice in a row now (first time while showing it to a buyer) with no troubles and I think perhaps it was stopped on Sunday to make us look for this van. We are set for years now rather than having to upgrade every few years. Thank you all for your prayers and faith in God and us. We are so blessed by all of you!